Art and Oracle: A Scholarly Resource of African and Rituals of Divination | Explore & Learn

Monuments of Divine Insight

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he pervasive influence of divination in many African cultures is suggested in the iconography of the works presented in the final catalogue entries, numbers 44 through 50. Though not divination instruments, they evoke the subject of divination. While many of the works included in this exhibition survive as impressive visual documents of the quest for insight by individuals now long forgotten, several were monuments commissioned by African leaders before colonialism, created in response to auguries concerning their particular destinies. Unequaled in their expressive power, they eloquently convey to contemporary viewers the personal aspirations of their royal patrons. The gleaming copper-alloy divination portrait of King Glele (r. 1858–89), in the guise of the armed war god Gu, projects a sense of invulnerability and martial strength at the height of Dahomey's power. His son Gbehanzin (r. 1889–94), however, inherited Dahomey on the eve of its defeat to French imperialism. His consuming preoccupation with keeping that enemy force at bay is reflected in a lifesize representation of a surrealistic creature that fuses shark and human features, commissioned before his exile to Martinique. Another work, a Yoruba carved wooden door by one of Africa's most celebrated artists of the last century, Olowe of Ise, directly evokes divination in its depiction of an Ifa divination tray surrounded by flocks of birds. Its masterful composition and accessible imagery express the central role of divination as the ultimate avenue to enlightenment in Yoruba society. Olowe draws on an established visual vocabulary to combine references to the diviner's primary investigative tool—a divination tray–and metaphysical concepts of life force and personal destiny alluded to through the bird imagery. A costly prestige piece affordable only by a Yoruba king, this African sculpture reflects the artist's essential role in elucidating and visually articulating the faith that forms the core of a people's worldview (comparable to a Renaissance painter's fresco illustrating the Christian concepts of transubstantiation or resurrection).

44. Door Panel: Birds and Divination Tray (Ilekun)
Olowe of Ise (ca. 1873–ca. 1938)
Yoruba, Nigeria
Wood; 194.3 x 65.5 cm (76 1/2 x 25 3/4 in.)
Late 19th–early 20th century
Rolf and Christine Miehler Collection, Munich

45. Throne: Divination Scene (Ngunja)
Chokwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola
Wood; H. 99.1 cm (39 in.)
19th–20th century
Trustees of the British Museum, London 1951
AF 32.9

46. Royal Spear: Female Figure (Mulumbu)
Luba, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wood, metal; H. 135.9 cm (53 1/2 in.)
19th century
The Field Museum, Chicago
210462

47. Door (Anuan)
Baule, Côte d'Ivoire
Wood, pigment; 130 x 61 cm (51 1/8 x 24 in.)
19th–20th century
Museum Rietberg, Zurich
RAF 520

48. Divination Portrait of King Glele as the War God, Gu (Bocio)
Attributed to Ganhu Huntondji
Fon, Republic of Benin
Copper alloy, wood; H. 105 cm (41 3/8 in.)
19th century
Musée Dapper, Paris

49. Divination Portrait of King Gbehanzin as a Man-Shark (Bocio)
Sosa Adede (fl. ca. 1860–1900)
Fon, Republic of Benin
Wood, paint; H. 160 cm (63 in.)
19th century
Laboratoire d'Ethnologie, Musée de l'Homme, Paris
93.45.3

50. Plaque: Three Men Striking Idiophones with Birds of Prophecy
Edo, Court of Benin, Nigeria
Brass; 47.3 x 34 x 12 cm (18 5/8 x 13 3/8 x 4 3/4 in.)
16th–17th century
Trustees of the British Museum, London
98.1–15.117